The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-10-28

cation. 1t was the occasion of the
feast of Inpelula. During the fifteen days
that this feast lasted the Tchuktch.s gave
themselves up to all kinds of feeding and
sports They wrestled in a cGtch-as-catch-
can sort of style, ate until | expected they
would burst their sides. danced, and ran foot
and reindeer races. There was nothing in
the least like religion, and | never saw a
priest or any one perform what you might
call religious ceremony, except when they
sprinkled themselves with deer soup made of
blood and fat TO change their luck. When
they do this they go out of doors and turn
to the east, each member of the family doing
it in turn"
Being pressed to give some further details
of the customs of the people, Vincent said
that reindeer blood appeared to be looked
upon by them as a symbol of all that is
good and nourishing as well as life giving
1t enters into all their domestic customs.
Thus when a girl is married or betrothed,
a smudge of deer blood is made from her
lips to her ears, and the groom is similarly
bedaubed. Blood is the sum total of their
pharmacopPia, and in varying doses is pre-
scribed for sickness of all kinds, though
they appeared to need but little physic
Referring to the children, Vincent con-
tnued, They call them by some physical
popularity, just like the Indians in this
country. There was nice little girl they
called Chic-Chua, because she was round
shOuldered; the mems names often convey
an idea of skill or strength. The girls at 5
or e years of age are taught to sew deerslinS
and to make thread, and they soon learn
that they have got to do all the work and
that the boy is the boss. He is taught when
he is s years old to use the laSso and to fish.
When man dies his body is burned As
soon as the breath has passed out
of his body, the women wall for a
few minutes i'll chorus, and then wrap
him up in snow-white deer skins. He
is then placed on sled drawn by hi, best
deer team, and is driven out of the camp
with the reins in his stiff fingers to a place
where the men have gathered fagots for
fire The deer are struck to the heart
with q Knife at one blow, and tie
sled with its lifelesS burden, and the
deer are all placed on the wood, which
is then lighted. The men go away and
leave the fire in charge of an attendant,
who sees that everything Is consumed. The
dead mans house is closed for week, and
every night for that time the faces of the
entire family are smudged with ashes and
blood from mouth to ears. The families are
always small, not more than two, or at most
four children being the usual number. N
the way of music they beat a tum-tum or
drum made of deer-skin stretched over a hoop
about two feet across, and sing to the TAFT o
i'll a screeching or bowling way which is
painful to listen to. They have no coin.
and all their trading is done by the old bar
tering methods in which they swap q sheath
knife for deer, and u piece of linen is valued
at two deer. Their ideas of time are very
vague counting twelve moons to the year.
and SO find that they have few weeks over.
The weather is bad except in March and
September In winter, of course, the cold
is excessive, and in summer it is quite hot,
with thick. heavy fOgs.
81 stld,n continued Vincent, "the first
time about four months with these people
They treated me very kindly indeed and
looked III on me as one of old U-tourat's
family They intended that 1 should cross
the Trade Mountains and GO to the Anadir
river, which flows on the west side of the
Trade Mountains, but they learned that the
mountains would be impossible, and
SO determined in March, 1886, to
take me back to the coast
where they had found me. My feelings
were mixed; had got to like my com
panions, and yet | was anxious to get home,
and whenever | thought of that my heart
fell, as they had given me to
understand that my chances of being
picked up were better by going across
the mountains to the trading post than by
returning TO the lagoon, near which | ard
my three companions had landed in June,
1885. Old U-tourat accompanied me with
the train of sleds, just as | had seen him ar
rive. My companions l found in a very low
state, and before l had been long at the
lagoon they all three died. | waited, and
watched, and hoped for a vessel to heave in
sight, but it never came, and the deermfn
had their fish all packed and the first of Sep
TENDER had come, and my only choice was
to stay at the lagoon or return to the valley
once more. l chose the latter, and in De
cember was again among the hut5 in the
bean-shaped valley. Hardly had the train
arrived home when the old man, who had so
befriended me died, regfettinG that he had
been unable to carry out his intentions of
returning me to my countrymen and con
fiding me to the care of his son Katilkot
He was bright, clever man, and in January
of this year got up party of twelve seds,
and in three days drove me over the Trade
Mountains to the Russian trading post on
the Anadir river, a distance of $40 miles.
The post was about 100 miles from the nv
er's mouth, and dirty place in charge of
dirty half-breed Tchuktchis However, |
met some deermen from Cape Behring, and,
carving my name on piece of wood [ cut
out also the name of the ship belonged to,
and asked any countrymen into whose
hands the board might fall to try and pick
me up at the lagoon ten miles south of
Cape Navarin. Without much hope we
again UufD6u oar SleuS lOT CDe valley ana
crossed the mountain, this time taking
twelve days, and seeing the huts in March
of this year We stopped at the valley till
the deer had calved, and in April made
again for the lagoon. Here another disap-
pointment was in store for me. The little
Indians told me that the whaler Sea Breeze
had touched two days before arrived, and
had inquired for me. This nearly did for
me; but waited and helped at the catch
until July II, while | was fishing inshore,
heard voices in the fog and then a boat
doomed up close to me, and that ends my
yarn. 1t was a boat from the Bear, and
Lieut. Hamlet soon took me in charge, and
so am here to-day"
Vincent casually remarked that the deer
men were loaded down with presents and
the parting with him was much softened by
the gifts of tobacco, molasses, and rifles
which Capt. Healy sent them. At the same
time the generous treatment the deermen
received will have the effect of winning,
perhaps for some other shipwrecked sailor,
an equally kind reception at the hands of
the Tchuktchis.
Elder Evans and the Shakers.